European Economy Since 1900: Comparing Post World War I and World War 2

The European Economy Since 1900
Name
Institution
The European Economy Since 1900
Comparing Post World War I and World War II
The world wars had a long term impact on the economies of continental Europe regardless of whether they won or lost. The First World War destroyed monarchies and empires. Ancient Germany, Italy, Russia, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire were all destroyed leading to displacement of huge populations. The Second World War brought deeper cooperation among former foes through strengthening of trade and recovery which was the main reason why economic growth globally was faster after WWII than in the first half of the century. The Second World War was similar to WWI but with more countries, more soldiers, more guns, more deaths and more destruction.
Economies of WWI combatants were much less compared to those nations that stayed neutral to such an extent that even the lowest economic growth rate among the neutral nations was higher than the highest of the participating countries (Broadberry & Harrison, 2005). Unemployment rose in France, Britain experienced recession before reaching pre war parity in the 1920s. German did not have a good reputation on reparation in full gold value and experienced hyperinflation after WWI while Russia was fiscally conservative (Eichengreen, 2007). While WWI was a continental European affair, WWII was a struggle for global dominance. During the Golden Age Europe experienced tremendous economic growth attributed to catch up growth (Crafts, 2004) owed to lack of social capability, diminished technological advancement and American productivity and most importantly post war reconstruction.
Comparing 1946- 1973 and 1973- Present
The great depression was an economic collapse that engulfed the global economy from 1929 to 1930 and set the stage for WWII. There was a mix of economic, political and social factors that culminated in the great depression. Starting with the Russian revolution, the destruction of empires like the Ottoman Empire and formation of smaller nations created geo-political supremacy (Eichengreen, 2007). The collapse of the gold standard and the use of gold for settling international trade necessitated governments to print notes to pay for their war needs leading to creation of different currencies and setting their own value against the gold. The global financial imbalances and Germany reparations after the war had a few winners with the US market bubble as the USA was the only country that emerged from WWI with a growing economy. The lack of a global leadership on economic policies led to the fall of stock markets and economic activity.
The Golden Age was a period of economic prosperity and happiness in Europe that extended from the period after the end of the Second World War to early 1970s. High levels of economic growth and productivity as well as the emergence of Britton Woods’s institutions created an enabling economic environment for a bounce back from the disruption of the World Wars (Eichengreen, 2007). New nat...